How do you find a skilled upholsterer

[kodydog]

Thursday I turned in my resignation. Now the folks I work for are scrambling to find a replacement. Problem is its been a long time since they have had to get out there and do what it takes to lure a new employee into there business. They've always relied on people just walking in off the street or using the local classifieds. I suggested online placement sites like Indeed.com or Workforce.com but wonder if that will be much help.

I need suggestions on how to find a skilled upholsterer.

[bobbin]

I'm "lookin'" for someone to do nice work for me.  I'm not hiring.  I ask friends and customers who've hired me for referrals!

When I gave my notice to Boss (3 full mos.) there was a lot of foot draggin' with respect to locating my replacement (at least from my perspective).  There was a Craigslist ad. and "mouth to mouth" via associated businesses.  There were few responses, frankly.  And what few there were lacked many of my skills (so I was told). 

Skilled trades have been vastly underappreciated, IMO.  It's only when crunch time looms that employers begin to really consider what has walked out the door... and oftentimes for really pretty stupid reasons!

[chrisberry12]

indeed.com

[MinUph]

Tried indeed.com. Any more suggestions? Looking for a seamstress.

[scott_san_diego]

You might try the local newspaper.  Also try Craig's list. About 1 1/2 years ago  I placed an add on craig's list and the newspaper and got a fair response from it.  But you need to be very detailed on what type of seamstress you are looking for.  I would give applicants something to sew, to see if they really know how to do it.

[sofadoc]

My local newspaper hasn't had a real live honest-to-goodness "want ad" in years. Just a lot of phony 800 # scams.

If I were hiring (which I'm not), it wouldn't take me long to find someone. I have at least 2 or 3 highly qualified upholsterers come in my shop every year asking for a job. Complete with nice resumes, and portfolios of some really beautiful work.

Of course, the salary they would expect would throw my current pricing structure WAY out of whack.

[MinUph]

  Well I got a response from a woman from her indeed resume today. She sounds honest with her experience which is a plus. I will have her give me a call so we can discuss further.
  I was going to place an add on CL but they now want money to post jobs ads. I frown on that. But it might be necessary if this woman doesn't work out.

  Thanks for the help.

[KenB]

Try clicking Classifieds link above
Ken

[bobbin]

Boss ran a Craigslist ad. for 6 wks. for my replacement.  The prospects were pretty grim; ranged from "home sewers" looking for a first time sewing job to those with experience who reeked of cigarette smoke.  Neither was appealing, I don't know who was hired, but I've heard that there are difficulties with accurate measurements. 

[byhammerandhand]

Ah, if you consider the high cost of a new hire, beware the cost of a bad new hire.  
http://www.jobscience.com/blog/real-cost-bad-hire/

I may have said this before:   One former co-worker left and went to work for another company.   That other company would never hire someone off the street.   They hired them as a sub-contractor for six months and then if they worked out would offer them a position.  I always thought that was clever -- someone can buffalo their way through an interview and even behave for a while.  But the deadbeats have a hard time keeping it up for six months.

I've had to fire people.   Some deserved it; others were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  A number of years ago, I was set to go out of town for a vacation.   The division manager called me over to the hotel across the street from the office.  All around the room was flip-chart sized pieces of paper with the name of everyone in the division (several hundred people) listed.   Some in black, some in red, and some with question marks behind their name.  It was a hit list for about 40% "downsizing."    The next day, I had a meeting with a couple of people from an out of town group that I knew was going to be eliminated within a couple of weeks.   I had a hard time with that as they talked about coordinating plans between our groups.   My VP wished me to have a happy vacation and things will happen the week I got back.   After that time, people always got real nervous when their computer terminal quit responding (that was usually T minus 1 that you would be called into your manager's office in a few minutes.)

One of my customers is a delivery/moving company.   One day when I was there I saw a sign that they were looking for employees.   I jokingly asked the warehouse manager if I should apply.   I said I'd show up, show up clean and sober.   He said I'd be ahead of 99% of applicants if I'd do that.     Mike Rowe calls it "Show up early and stay late."  http://www.lifebuzz.com/mike-rowe/

The prospects were pretty grim...

[bobbin]

As with anything there are skilled people, people who care, and people who bump/hack along because they have minimal skills and don't really care.  With a skilled trade a new hire either knows the work or doesn't.  The latter doesn't have to be a deal breaker if the desire to build/improve skills is present.  In that case it's important for both worker and employer to be flexible and open.  Newbies make mistakes (they have to if they're going to learn and add to their skills), employers have to understand that and do their best to make the inevitable mistakes as inexpensive as they can.  The goal is to avoid "the set up for failure".  And for an employer that requires a lot of attention to the specifics of each step in a production process! and I think that point is too often overlooked by employers, frankly.  Too often new hires are intimidated and afraid to ask for clarification (don't want to look "dumb") and just forge ahead because they don't fully understand how quickly the cost of a screw up adds up!  Plenty of blame for everyone, clearly.  

I've never understood the "hack" mentality.  I loathed working with them.  Whining, grousing, never understanding that doing something right the first time was easier... drove me nuts.  It also drove me nuts when Boss provided barely skeletal information with respect to the requirements of the project, but then felt fully justified in subjecting my work to a full post mortem (which often seemed hinged on how Boss's day had gone and was delivered in front of co-workers, sometimes customers).  I left because I was tired of asking for clear instructions and never knowing when I was going to be beaten up for a mistake that could've been avoided with the often asked for specific work order.  And also because my over 30 yrs. of experience deserved more professional consideration!

Aside from the vagaries in earnings (which are pretty easy to control), I like working for me a lot more!

[MinUph]

Well to follow up as I said I would. I never heard back from the woman that showed interest in the position. She sounded good to me. Oh well ya never know.

  Anyway, I want to thank you that have responded to this post. It has been interesting reading.

  bobbin, I have experienced the type of owner you speak of. It is frustrating.

  I am planning on taking over the shop where I work the end of this year and will be better at leading than it is now. I have learned a lot over the years and found people make the company and communication is a key factor in anything produced. I will be doing the hiring from now on and I like that. I just hope I can find someone as our seamstress is moving at the end of May. I don't really want to sew all day myself.

  The hunt continues.

[kodydog]

More placement sites include;
Monster.com
BusinessWorkforce.com
Jobs.com
And in Florida, as an employer, the Employ Florida Marketplace offers a multitude of resources to help you find the perfect candidate, create job listings, review job market trends and more.

When I gave my notice to Boss (3 full mos.) there was a lot of foot draggin'

I gave a little over 2 months, the bosses think this is totally unfair. They say they could never find a replacement in this short time. I told them they need to start now, be proactive, don't drag your feet and don't wait till the last minute. I know these people and I know the more time I give the longer it will take to find a replacement. They started to tell me I owe them but I had to cut them short by telling them I come in every day, on time and work hard from the time I get there till the time I leave.

There placing all there faith in Craiglist. They don't talk to me much anymore except to tell me what needs to be done next. One of the other employees told me they have someone coming in Monday (my day off) for a working interview. The last two weeks my paycheck is not handed to me. Its just left somewhere in my work area for me to find.

I really need to know, is 60 days notice unfair?

[bobbin]

I don't think 60 days was unreasonable or unfair, at all, Kody.  It's two mos., 8 weeks!  Don't allow yourself to be "guilted into" thinking it was!

I gave 3mos. because overall, the job was perfect for me for several years.  I liked my schedule (for the most part), the work was occasionally dirty and really heavy, but there was a lot of interesting variety, too!  I had a generous employee discount, a savings plan, and a vacation.  I basically set up my own shop while working there.  ;)

But professional improvement was increasingly viewed with suspicion; my thoughts and ideas on how to accomplish a task was always ignored.  I learned to keep my mouth shut and artfully dodge questions involving my "opinion".  Every year made it harder to do that, so it was time "to go".     

[JuneC]

I gave a little over 2 months, the bosses think this is totally unfair.

I really need to know, is 60 days notice unfair?

2 months not enough???!!!  They're VERY luck they got more than 2 weeks.  This is NOT your problem.  It's theirs.  If the shoe were on the other foot and they were cutting you loose for whatever reason, it would be absolutely no more than 2 weeks.

June